At a time of discussion about the future shape of league football in Scotland, and even the possibility of a pyramid to open up the lower reaches to ambitious smaller clubs, I was delighted to come across some vintage material relating to Helensburgh FC.

This douce west coast resort once hosted a league team, when the Scottish League tried on a previous occasion to expand its reach. For three seasons in the mid 1920s, there were three full divisions in the League, with an extraordinary total of 56 clubs. Among them was Helensburgh, who actually won Division Three in its final season, 1925/26, before financial imperatives saw the end of the experiment. They played at Ardencaple Park in the town, and thanks to the Helensburgh Heritage Trust's photo archive this rare image of the football ground can be seen here along with a host of other local sporting photos. The Heritage Trust also has a good history of the football club in pdf format at this link.

As websites go, this is an excellent example of how Scottish sporting heritage can be preserved and presented, as an integral part of a town's essent history.

NB for regular followers of this blog, apologies for the lack of recent postings. I've been victim of a rather painful back strain which has severely limited my computer time!